Tag Archives: Gascogne wine

Wine of the week: Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2020

Mont Gravet Gascogne
Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2020/$8-$13

Is it from Gascony? Is it cheap? Then of course it’s worth drinking

One of the blog’s regular readers teased me recently about my affection for Gascon white wines, and he was exactly correct – I do write about them a lot.

And why not? Gascon whites – sometimes blends, sometimes not – remain one of the wine world’s great values. They’re simple but not stupid, offer clean fruit flavors, and are low in alcohol (hint, hint, to all the young people out there).

In other words, just the thing for a weeknight dinner.

Case in point is the Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne 2020 ($8, purchased, 11.5%). It’s not a blend, like Domaine Tariquet, but a varietal – all colombard. As such, it’s a little more tart than the Gascon blends, and the fruit is more citrusy. Call it not quite sauvignon blanc, but in no way with too much grapefruit.

The Mont Gravet is a long time-blog favorite, and this vintage is another in a long line of more than dependable Mont Gravet wines (white, red, and pink) put together by the Master and Sager families. Would that California knew how to duplicate this kind of quality at this price.

Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

Mini-reviews 59: Hearty Burgundy, white Burgundy, Aldi, Gascogne

Mini-reviews 59: Hearty Burgundy, whReviews of wines that don ?t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month. This month, mini-reviews of four wines I really wanted to like, but didn’t:

? Gallo Family Vineyards Hearty Burgundy NV ($9/1.5 liters, sample, 12%): The wine your parents and grandparents drank in college (in a 50th anniversary edition) is more modern in style these days, with more ripe black fruit. But it still tastes pretty much like it did then, which is surprising, and, for better or worse, epitomizes the concept of jug wine.

? Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les S tilles 2011 ($25, purchased, 12.5%): Disappointing white Burgundy from one of my favorite producers — more like what California chardonnay tastes like when winemakers say they’ve made “French-style” wine. Oak isn’t integrated at all, though apple and pear fruit is evident.

? Sunshine Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2013: ($7, purchased, 13%): Aldi store brand is one-note, citrus-aggressive New Zealand white that’s a step up from something like Monkey Bay but, oddly, not all that enjoyable when the bottle is empty.

? Globerati C tes de Gascogne ($6, purchased, 12%): Easily the worst made Gascon wine I’ve ever had — thin, lacking fruit, almost no terroir, and none of the white grapiness that makes Gascon wine so much fun. What was Globerati thinking?